Apparatus for grading and washing heavy material



Mar. 13, 1323.

E. D. MERWIN APPARATUS FOR GRADING AND WASHING' HEAVY MATERIAL FiledFeb. 24;, 1921 2 sheets-sheet 1' v mum/10R gala/ g Mar. 13, 1923.-

- "1,448,310 E. D. MERWIN Filed Feb. 24, 1921 w '2 sheets-sheet 2[aye/2e fl' Mara/12m av ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 13, 1923.

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EUGENE MERWIN, orssnarr a wasnmeron.

APPARATUS non saenrnc nn wasnr ve nnavrivrarnnr'an. I

Application filed rem-n r 2a; 1921. SeriaI No. M240 1.

To all who me t may concern Be it known that I. EUGENE D. AIERVIN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of Kingand State of lVashingtony have invented a certain new The object of (myimprovement is to provide apparatus wherein the grading of materialswith respectto size and specific gravity will be accomplished bypermitting them to settle through a current of water that is flowing atsubstantially right angles to the of movement of the particles of"direction material. I

Another object is to provide'apparatus of this nature including a graderbox of substantially'V-shaped cross section having at' its-forward end aplurality of horizontal slots arranged one aboveanother andcommunicating with an externally" disposed pressure tank whereby aplurality of horizontal sheets of water will be discharged into theinlet end of the grader box;

A further object is to provide apparatus end a presof this nature havingat its inlet sure box for water that is divided into an upper and lowercompartment and to further provide a vertically adjustable pressuretankthat is connectedwith the lower" compartment of the pressure boxsothat water maybe introducedat higher pressure in the lower portion ofthegrader box than it is in the upper portion of such grader box,

the water that is introduced in the lower compartment being alwaysfresh, clean water while the water that is introduced into the uppercompartment being, in'some 1nstances water that has already been used. A'further'object is to provide mechanism for deriving power from materialand water that are delivered froma higher elevation to the machine,which power is used for operating certain parts'of the machine.

A still further'obje ctis to providenovel and'eflicient-valve mechanismfor drawing in my prior application on thegraded material from. thebottom of I as will appear from the followingdescripthe above andotherobjects in "view tion; the invention consistsin the novel constructlon,1 adaptation. and 'Lcombln-ation of parts of a grading and washingmachine as and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure. 1 is'a view in vertical section substantiallyon the longitudinal medial plane of a grading} and washing apparatusconstructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a sec will bemore clearly hereinafter described 2, 2' of Fig. 1,-certain parts beingshown in elevation. Fig. 3 'is'an enlarged. view partly in" crosssection and partly in 'elevation showing parts of thevalve mecha-f' nismby which the material isremov'ed from v the bottom of the grader box.isa sectional view of a rotary screen substantially on a broken line4-,4- of Figal. F 'ig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional Viewsubstantially on a broken line 5, Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of acrossbar that isused on the top of the grader box and Fig. 7 is a viewin elevation with'pa'rts broken away of an ov'er shot' waterwheel.

Like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the severalviews;

*tional view substantially on' th'e broken line Y 1 so 5 of-Fig; 2.

Beferrlrig" to the drawings, I havefshown a substantiallyV-shapedgrader: box comprising two downwardly convergent side o0 vmemberslO that are provided 'with end are j further provided. with abottom" plate i 20 having perforations 1 or [valve openings atregularintervals through which ma 21. "serial may be drawn off.

- The grader box may 'be's upported within a suitably erabl constructedof channel and" angle bars, The grader box is "be opened and closedby'a' slide lT'w'liich is designed frame 13 which is" pref-' provided atits" forward end with an enternallydisposed water resecured to and maybe operated by a rod 18 that projects outwardly through the side of thepressure box.

The bottom 20 of the grader box is held securely in contact with theside plates by vertical tie rods 22 whose ends project throughperforations 23 in bars 24: that extend across the top of the box. Thebars 24: are preferably provided near each end with a plurality ofperforations 23 as-shown in Fig. 6 so that the widthof the top of thegrader box may be varied. The end plates 11 and 12 are'held tightly incontact with the ends of the side plates 10 by longitudinally arrangedtie rods 25.

Packing strips 26 are preferably provided between the side plates 10 andthe end plates 11 and 12 and bottom plate as more clearly shown in Figs.3 and 5.

The side plates 10 and the end platesll and 12 are formed of metal plateand the side plates 10 are preferably reinforced by externally disposedchannel bars 27.

The end plate 11 at the forward end of the machine is provided with aplurality of relatively narrow horizontal slots 28 arranged one aboveanother and adapted to permit sheets of water to be discharged from thepressure box into the grader.

The end plate 11 is also provided opposite the lowermostcompartment ofthe pressure box with a slot 30 that is preferably larger than the slots28 so that a somewhat stronger current of water may be created in thelower portion of the grader box adjacent to the inlet end.

The lower compartment of the pressure box is connected by a flexiblepipe or hose 31 with a pressure tanlr32 which is supported by a stem 33that telescopes into a base member 3a in such a manner that the heightof the pressure'tank 32 may be adjusted to vary the pressure within thelower compartment of the pressure box. Water may be supplied to the tank32 througha hose 35.

Material that is to gravel, ores,- from a chute 36 into a receptacle orbox 37 that is supported on the frame 13 above the inlet end of themachine. The box 37 is divided into two compartments 38 and 39 by apartition wall l0 which is preferably cut away as shown at 41 in Fig. 2to permit water with which the material is washed down the chute 36 topass from the compartment 38 into the compartment 39. The box 37 isprovided on one side with two discharge openings 41 and 42 that communibe graded as sand,

cate with the compartments 38 and 39 respectively and that each havesliding doors or gates 43 associated therewith by which such dischargeopenings ll or 42 may be partially or entirely closed.

Mounted on suitable bearings 4A between or the like, may be delivered.

the bottom of the box 37 and the top of the grader box is a shaft e 5upon which two overshot wheels 4&6 and r? are secured.

The wheel l? is arranged to receive water thatissues from the opening 42and to discharge such water directly into the top of the pressure boxle-while the wheel 46 is arranged to receive material and a small amountof water that. issues from the opening 41 and to discharge such materialand water onto an inclined plate 48 by which the said material. isdirected through an opening 50 into the upper end of the grader box. Thecompartments or buckets of the wheel L6 are preferably shapedsubstantially as shown in Fig. 7 so that they will distribute thematerial evenly across the plate 48 from which such material will slidein an evenly distributed sheet into the water of the grader box.

A baii'll'e plate 51 is provided opposite the opening 50 to direct thedischarging material. downwardly. such baiiie plate being adjustablysupported by rods or bolts 52 that extend upwardly through slots 53in'brackets5 l.

The grader box is provided at its outlet end adjacent said upper edgethereofwith a discharge opening 55' that communicates with the interiorof a rotary screen 56 through which all water that is discharged fromthe grader box must pass. The screen 56 is mounted on a horizontal shaft57 that is provided with a gear wheel 58 that meshes with another gearwheel 59 on the shaft 45 so that the screen 56 will be constantlyrotated by power derived from water and material that are delivered ontothe overshot wheels 46 and 4:7.

The screen 56 is of very fine mesh and through so that the water thatissues from the outlet 55 will be relieved of all solid matter thatwould tend to settle and-may safely be discharged into anordinary seweror if desired may be pumped to a higher elevation and again used forwashing material down the chute 36.

The rotation of the screen 56 keeps it clean at all. times and preventsit from clogging as a stationary screen would do. 7

The grader box is provided at the discharge end and adjacent the bottomthereof with a hopper shaped receptacle 60 that serves to catch thefinersilt and clay that settles at the discharge end of the box and thereceptacle 60 is tapped by a pipe 61 having a suitable valve 62 whichmay be opened at intervals to draw off or permit the discharge ofthe-settlings. v i

The valve openings 21 which are arranged at regular intervals along'thebottom of the grader box are adapted to be closed by spherical valvemembers or balls 63 that are secured on stems 64: that projectdownwardly are each pivotally connected at one end with a downwardlyprojectingrigid stem 66 and that are each provided at the other end withY a flattened portion 67 arranged to be en- I gaged by a cam 68 on ashaft 70. The cams 68 are distributed around the shaft 70 so that someof such cams will be operating at all times thereby keeping a fairlyconstant torsion onthe shaft By the above described arrangement it willbe seen that each of the spherical valve members 63 will be lifted fromits seat once at each complete revolution of the shaft 70 and willthereby permit the 'discharge of material that has collected around suchvalve member.

The material will settle in such amanner as'to form a cone-shapedreceptaclearound each of the valve members 63 and at each opening of avalve member a small amount of the material that has collected aroundthe sides thereof will be discharged but the valve member will notremain open-long enough to permit the dischargeiof any considerableamount of water.

The, useof a'spherical valve disposed within the grader box andarrangedto be lifted off its seat overcomesthe'very grave difliculty ofsliding valves with their consequent excessive wear and friction wherethey are subjected to the action of sand and where lubrication is notpossible.

The shaft 70 may be'provided at'the for ward end of the machine with abelt pulley 71 that is connected'by a belt 72 with another belt pulley73 on the shaft so that the shaft will be driven whenever material isbeing delivered tothe grader box.

A discharge trough or flume 74; is pref-l erably disposed lengthwise ofthe machlne below the valve openings 21and is inclined downwardly fromthe head toward the discharge end of the machine so that material thatdrops into such trough will be washed .toward and discharged fromthelowerend thereof.

In'addition to the trough 74 I have pro vided another receptacle ortrough .75 disposed at one side of the center of the machine andarranged to receive materialfroin relatively short inclined trou hs 76.one of m C I which may be supportedbelow each of the discharge openings21.

When the machineisused for washing and grading sand a number of thetroughs T6 at the inlet end of the machine will preferably be removed asshown in Fig. 1 thereby allowing the washed and graded sand from anumber of the valve openings 21 at the head end of the machine todischarge di rectly into the inclined trough 74. Sufth cient water willbe discharged with the sand to cause such sand to be washed down thereceptacles.

'of the particles, the particles of I terial beingordinarily carried Oyerandd s v second time. i I v Ifdesired, anovershot wheel similar tothe;

of the machine in suchv a. manner that the inclined trough 74. anddischarged mm the land lower end thereof. The finer sanchclay, etci,

near the lower end of the machine into the A different grade of sandwill be delivered will be discharged from the valve openings from each'offthe'valve openings Ql'and'if it'is desired to-preserve thesedilferent'grades separately transverse inclined troughs/(6 may bearranged loelow-each valve opening and may be mad'e'to deliver intoseparate: I

In the washing and grading of sand for ordinary commercial purposes,

it will not be necessary to preservethe'se various grades separately,hence all of the grades thatare suitable for commercial use will beallowed to discharge into the trough 74 while the finer sand will beconducted v the troughs76 into the receptacle 75.

hen the sandgis graded'by screening it is graded with respect {to sizeonly. but when it is -gr'aded by the hydraulic processhereindescribed itis graded and also with r'e'spect'to the specific gravity? lightermawith res pect to size I charged with the refuse v e In preparing sandfor commercial use it; has also been found desirable to wash such sandthoroughly to remove organic matter which is ordinarily found therein.This'machine affects a thorough washing of the sand atthe same time thesand; is being. graded therebyjremoving all organic matter d The*i \:o

water that is introducedinto the'low'er tompartment of the fresh, p Istrata of fresh, clean-waterythat the Sand;

pressure tank *lt is always 4.

from the machine,

clean water and it'gi's through this T I The water that issues frommanner-55 after passing through the screen 56*is practically dischargedinto a conduit" 7.7 which may? conduct such water toa suitable pump, notshown by which it maybe elevated and ea rermiaed to wash down lthe fiume36": delivered int If the supply "of water 1 at "a with material that-isbeing such" flume. higher elevationthan the machine isplentis 1 fiil thewater discharge water wilhpassthereover. and the power generated bysuch; wheel Inaybef used s i t in. ir eti suth seen er:

grading any material that is heavierthan reefromfsolid inatterfand be fi i i fllOy.

pbvmaay will .notxbe usedthe' I e wheel maybe mounted at the outle'tfendwater and while it has been referred to as particularly advantageous forwashing and grading sand for commerciahpurposes it must'settlejust priorto -its-being .dischanged" 9- i and separating ores a riflle 78 isplaced just below the slot 30 and above the valve 63 next adjacenttheinlet end otthe machine,

which riiile serves to direct the heavier materials toward the inlet endoi the machine so that such heavier materials will be dischargedirom thefirst valve opening 21.

l-Vhen the machine is usedtor classifying ores, I also provide on theend wall 12 at the discharge end or the machine a plurality oftransverse shelves 80 upon which differpressure tank p 'compartment,means for delivering water ent grades of very fine material will tend tosettle.

In addition to washing and grading sand and separating oresthis machineis useful for other purposes, as for instance, it may be useditorgrading grains where it is not a. disadvantage to have such grainssubjected to the action ot'water.

- From the foregoing description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings the" advantages of the construction and method ofoperation of this apparatus will be readily apparent, but while l havedescribed the principle of operation. of the invention together with thedevice which I now consider to be the best embodiment t erect it will beunderstood that the structure shown is merely illustrative and that suchchanges may be made as are-within the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatusot the class described comprising a grader box, a pressuretank at one end of: saidgraderbox, a perforated wall separating saidgrader box lIOHl said pressure tank,-a partition wall dividing said intoan upper and a lower into said upper'compartment and separate I meansfor delivering waterv at higher pressureto said lower compartment. 2.Apparatus ot the class described comprising a- "\!-shaped grader box, apressure tank at one end of saidgrader box, a wall separating saidpressure tank from said grader box said wall having a plurality ofhorizontal slotsarranged one above another, a partition wall dividingsaid pressure tank into an upper and a lower compartment,

- means fordelivering water to said upper compartment, and separatemeans for delivering clean water at a'higher pressure to said lowercompartment. i

3. Apparatus of the class described combox, a pressure tank at one ores,

1,44as1o end of said grader box, a wall separating said pressure tankand said grader box, said wall having transverse slots spaced one aboveanother, a partition dividing said pressure tank into an upper and alower compartment, a valve in said partition for controlling the flow otwater therethrough, means for delivering water to said uppercompartment, and a vertically adjustable water supply tank connectedcompartment whereby the pressure of the water delivered to said lowercompartment may be varied.

4. Apparatus of the class described comprising a grader box. a pressuretank at one end, of said grader box, a wall separating said pressuretank from said grader box, said wall having a plurality of horizontalslots arranged one above another, a partition dividing said pressuretank into an upper and a lower compartment, a material receptaclearranged above said pressure tank and divided into two compartments by apart1- upper end of said pressure with said lower tank, a verti callyadjustable fresh water tank and meansfor delivering water from saidfresh water tank into the lower compartment of said pressure tank.

5. A. grading and washing machine comprising a V-shaped grader box, apressure tank at one end of said municating with said grader box by aplurality of horizontal slots arranged one above another, an inclinedplate at the top of said tank and arranged to deliver into said graderbox, a bathe plate supported for vertical and horizontal adjustment infront of the location at which said inclined plate delivers, overshotbucket wheels arranged above said pressure tank and said inclined platerespectively, a material receptacle arranged above said overshotbucketwheels and divided into two compartments by a partition wall that is cutaway to permit water to overflow from one to the other of saidcompartments, means for delivering material and water into one of saidcom- EUGENE D. MERVVIN.

grader box and com

